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submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Republican lawmakers in the US are leaning into outdated definitions of obscenity to outlaw drag and ban books too

For five months this year, homosexuality was prohibited in a Tennessee college town.

In June, the city council of Murfreesboro enacted an ordinance outlawing “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct”. The rule did not explicitly mention homosexuality, but LGBTQ+ people in the town quickly realized that the ordinance references 21-72 of the city code, which categorizes homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct.

The ordinance was essentially a covert ban on LGBTQ+ existence.

Erin Reed, one of the first and only national journalists to cover the ordinance earlier this year, noted that Murfreesboro isn’t “the only community that has these old archaic bits of code that target homosexuality”.

Earlier this month, following a legal challenge from the ACLU of Tennessee, the government of Murfreesboro removed “homosexuality” from the list of acts defined as “public indecency” by the city code. The small victory came after officials repeatedly refused to issue permits for the BoroPride Festival, citing the new ordinance.

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[-] burntbutterbiscuits@sh.itjust.works 5 points 11 months ago

I feel like would be a great town to fuck in the park at midnight. Just more exciting because you could get a small ticket for it.

[-] Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago

Uncertain if it'll be a small ticket from a police officer. I'm more confident it'll be a burning cross and a noose from a group of white hooded individuals. There's a history.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Maybe a small bullet (or ten) from the cop. :/

[-] 18107@aussie.zone 7 points 11 months ago

Ten small warning shots to the back of the head.

[-] burntbutterbiscuits@sh.itjust.works 4 points 11 months ago

True, but as long as they aren’t wearing their hoods they are probably the ones most likely to be engaging in the behaviors they so publicly despise.

this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
539 points (97.2% liked)

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